The Hat Family
February 13th, 2012
As you may recall, I like to crochet. Well, long story short… after crafting my own flowery hat, then an Angry Birds hat for my eldest, and then a Poko hat for my youngest, it was time to make one for my husband. And what theme do you suppose he asked for, hmm? Lego? A Moose? Something Smarmy? Nope.
That’s right. R2D2.
I started out trying to find out exactly what R2D2 looked like 360degrees around, which was no easy task, let me tell you.
But I pieced together what I could and tried to simplify it a little bit, the end result being this…
Front.
Back.
Now, it’s not something I think he’ll be wearing every day to work or anything… but he seems to like it, especially for bumming around the house on a chilly day. Although, I think getting him in mittens is out of the question – besides, what on earth would they look like? 
Anyhow. The set is finally complete. Plus, now when we all go out for a weekend adventure, we’ll be sure to turn some heads.
Tags: Angry Birds, crochet, flowers, hats, Poko, R2D2, Star Wars
Water Play
February 8th, 2012
So, as I may have mentioned a while back, I’ve been playing around with watercolours lately. Not necessarily “successfully”, mind you, but I blame that on the whole not-getting-to-complete-my-watercolour-class thing. Anyhow, I did another page last night with my artsy-ladies group, and I figured it was about time to share. NOT because I think they’re any good <ahem>… but because I think there are some people out there who think I am successful at everything I try. Which is simply not true. And here’s proof.
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love”. – Rumi
“The window of my soul I throw wide open to the sun”. – John Greenleaf Whittier
“My darling girl… when are you going to understand that being ‘normal’ is hardly a virtue – it rather denotes a lack of courage”. – Alice Hoffman
“The wheel is come full circle”. – William Shakespeare
“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves”. – William Shakespeare
It’s been fun to experiment with different techniques (wet-on-dry vs. wet-on-wet) and different tools (salt, masking fluid, gel pens). And there are areas on each of them that I like, which is good. But it’s insanely frustrating to see something in my mind’s eye and not be able to create it… yet. I guess that’s part of the whole “learning” thing though, isn’t it? *sigh* Well, okay then. Onwards and upwards.
Tags: learning, painting, quotes, techniques, tools, watercolours
Goats and Other Stories
February 2nd, 2012
Well, I’m glad that’s over. January, that is. It was an especially challenging month as my husband has been directing a kids show for Loose Moose Theatre, which has translated into much solo parenting, as well as days of costume/prop construction *and* some photo taking. Whew. But. The show opens this Saturday, so life is finally beginning to return to normal, thank goodness… just slowly.
Here are just a few of the goodies I’ve been helping with (when the kidlets have let me, that is…)
Sun and moon lanterns…
15 feet of background-hiding ocean (which still needs a piece)…
And three very differently-sized goat costumes.
Not to mention a few promotional photos, snapped with the children running wild behind the camera…
So, yeah. I’m a little tuckered out right now. But. The house kind of exploded (thanks to the Monkeyboys) whilst all this was going on, so I think before I take a day to relax, I’d better restock the fridge and get some laundry/dishes/toy tidying done. There will be time on the weekend for lounging. Hope y’all have a great one!
Oh, and if you’re in the Calgary area, be sure to check out the show!
Tags: Billy Goats, costumes, fabric ocean, lantern, Loose Moose, sun and moon, theatre for kids
Birthdays Galore
January 27th, 2012
It’s been a busy week or so, with Monkeyboy Jr. turning 8 (!) and Monkeyboy Junior Jr. turning 3 (!!). A week of laser tag and pizza and balloons and Rice Krispie cake and new toys and sushi and birthday cards and parties and… well, you get the idea. In between all of that, I’ve been trying to get some costumes and props made for the upcoming Loose Moose Theatre for Kids show that my husband is directing. And doing battle with a serious sinus infection. Oy. I’ll be glad when January is over.
Anyhow. We didn’t want to go overboard with toys and such this year – the eldest would get plenty from his friends at his party, and the youngest has already inherited a ton of them from his big brother – not to mention that Christmas wasn’t even a month ago… So. The eldest got a Lego set and a Wii game, and the youngest got a Fisher Price Batman set and clothes. But not just regular clothes. I decided to make Monkeyboy Junior Jr. a couple of shirts that I knew he’d absolutely adore. He’s a fan of both “Angry Birds” and “Max & Ruby” right now, so I did a Google image search for both of these things.
I found this image for an American Apparel t-shirt…
… which, after some editing and printing onto a decal, became this…
He was so excited that he had to change shirts immediately! Until he opened the next one, that is.
I had also found this image for Angry Birds cupcake toppers at…
… which again, got edited and turned into this…
… which in turn, got turned into this…
He was so excited by *this* shirt that he didn’t even bother to take the dragon shirt off before he put the Angry Birds one on! His older brother was also so enamoured by the shirt that I had to make him one too. Then, of course, I had a hard time getting them both to take the shirts off at bedtime! Silly boys.
There was a little bit of plain white decal left over from these shirts and I used it to modify a tee that I found at Wal-Mart? Target? (something like that) over the Christmas holidays when we were in California-Arizona.
It’s a VERY subtle Scott Pilgrim reference, and should have read “BOB-OMB”, but “BO-BOMB” just didn’t look or sound right…
Anyhow. I’ve got an ocean to sew (quite literally), and some goats to construct, so I’d best be off. Hope y’all have a great weekend!
Tags: Angry Birds, birthday, dragon, Loose Moose, Max & Ruby, Scott Pilgrim, Sex Bob-omb, t-shirts, theatre for kids
Blurry Endings
January 20th, 2012
So. Today’s was the last lesson in the Photoshop “Skinny-mini” course I was taking at the Kim Klassen Cafe. Wow. There was some cool stuff in there! I really enjoyed the course, learned some new tricks, and look forward to playing around with more of my own photos. I did, however, also discover that two weeks is about my maximum commitment these days – about day 7 (of 10) life started creeping in, and I was no longer diligent about getting the homework done. A 365 project just wouldn’t get done. Ah, well. What can you do when you have a sick toddler? Anyhow, I snuck in a little bit of playing this morning and thought I would leave it on this note. So, yeah. If you’re looking for a simple introduction to Photoshop, I highly recommend visiting Kim’s site and checking out her offerings. =)
Today’s lesson included selective blurring (in addition to textures, etc.), which transformed this…
Into this…
A little “heavy-handed”, I know, but I really liked how stylized it becomes. Have a great weekend, y’all!
Tags: blur, cafe, class, course, Kim Klassen, lesson, life, photoshop, Skinny-mini, text, textures
Layers and B/W
January 17th, 2012
Okay. The last couple of days of Skinny-mini have involved adding texture layers, and altering images from color to black-and-white (and gradients thereof).
Changing this…
To this…
And this…
To this…
(Oh, thank heavens for the spot-healing brush!!!)
Anyhow. Just thought I’d share. =)
Tags: black-and-white, editing, Kim Klassen, layers, PSE9, Skinny-mini, textures
PSE9 Homework
January 12th, 2012
Alrighty. Two lessons down and two days of homework in brings us to today. I just thought I’d share the results – some photographic art journaling, if you will, altering images I took for August Break.
Day 1 & 2 – Working With Text
Day 3 & 4 – Using Layers and Adjustments
Before
After
Before
After
Not terribly dramatic, I know (at least not when they’re small like this), but the changes are there. I can’t help but hear my favourite photography professor’s voice saying that they’re “calendar images”… and I’m not sure whether or not I should be offended by that. Anyhow. It’s been fun and I’m looking forward to tomorrows lesson. Wheee!
(Note: the framing was done afterward, in Pixlr-o-matic. I’m really hoping that we get around to covering how to do that sort of thing in PSE9 too…)
Tags: adjustments, e-course, homework, Kim Klassen, layers, Skinny-mini
The Skinny-Mini
January 10th, 2012
Remember way back in September when I finally got around to purchasing PSE9? Well, since then I’ve been trying to register for Kim Klassen’s FREE “Skinny-Mini” e-course – without success. It just never seemed to be offered when I was looking. Until today. As I was editing my Creative Inspirations list, I happened to click on her site to see if it was available… and, well, long story short, I’m on Lesson 2. Wheee! So, yeah. If you want to learn your way around Photoshop Elements, now’s the time to sign up! 10 lessons over 2 weeks, go at your own pace, and did I mention that it’s completely FREE??? Yes, she uses a lot of layers and textures – things you may not necessarily be “into”, but she’s also showing me some very useful basics and even some shortcuts – in a quick and dirty way. Yay! Join me if you dare. Maybe now I’ll be able to do some photo editing without all those lovely presets at Pixlr-o-matic.
From Day 1 – a little tour of PSE9 plus working with text!
Tags: e-course, free, Kim Klassen, photoshop, Pixlromatic, PSE9, Skinny-mini
The California-Arizona Christmas – Part III
January 9th, 2012
With Christmas temporarily done with (we had decided to give the majority of our gifts at a post-trip celebration back home), we got back to the serious business of vacationing.
The remainder of our trip is a haze of swimming…
… playing (as here, with the cousins)…
… and hanging out.
Followed by more swimming…
… more playing (at Crackerjax)…
… and more hanging out.
In the midst of all that, there were a couple of dinners with my husband’s family – including one at this quirky little place called Organ Stop Pizza. Yes, that entire back wall IS for the giant Wurlitzer theatre organ. Yes, those are dancing cat marionettes above it. And yes, I apparently do know all the words to several show tunes and “old time” classics. <ahem> Q.U.I.R.K.Y.
This was followed, of course, by more swimming…
… more playing (also at Crackerjax)…
… and yes, more hanging out.
Oh, and some window shopping…
… and lots of yummy eating…
… and random picture taking. =)
Then the time came for us to pack up and head home once more. Home to our own beds, Santa stockings and gifts, and everyday living. Thanks, California & Arizona & family & friends – you were a blast!
Tags: Arizona, California, Christmas, Crackerjax, Family, hanging out, home, Organ Stop Pizza, photo taking, playing, shopping, swimming, trip, vacation
